A solar system civilization is quite viable, and I can see scenarios where within one or two hundred years it would have a good chance of being largely independent of Earth.
Science fiction scenarios where the Earth is destroyed and space civilization staggers on without it are not that realistic, as there are damn few things that can destroy most of a planet's biosphere that would not wreck much of the solar system, too.
The only thing I can think of off hand is a major asteroid impact, and guess what: If you have a solar system civilization, even a rudimentary one, you have what it takes to prevent those.
As far as cultural collapses go (more likely than physical ones), spreading civilization around gives you a lot more flexibility in this area. More civilized areas are there to seed the ones that collapse (interplanetary "Marshall Plans")
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re: space colonization
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- Is space colonization a viable concept?